Visitor Information and Hospital Guidelines

Welcome to Hennepin County Medical Center’s main campus! We are located in downtown Minneapolis, across from the Metrodome, on Sixth Street and Park Avenue. In addition to our main campus, we also operate neighborhood and community clinics throughout Minneapolis and in surrounding communities.

Parking

Please allow extra time to find parking due to multiple construction projects happening in our downtown neighborhood. To avoid construction as much as possible, we highly recommend you use our HCMC Parking Ramp at 6th Street and Park Avenue. We offer discounted rates for patients, families, and visitors in this ramp, and it is also conveniently connected by skyway to the Purple Building until 10 pm. If you plan to visit the hospital frequently to see a patient, please consider our "20 for $20" parking voucher program. For $20, you can purchase 20 parking passes to be used in a two-week period at the HCMC Parking Ramp. Request an authorization slip from the unit staff and present it in the Gift Shop in the Red Building, Level 1 Lobby.

At our main campus

At our main campus, we offer many services and amenities to make your visit as comfortable and convenient as possible. Please refer to the links on the right for more information about:

how to get here and where to park, including our discounted parking options for patients and visitors

where to eat while you are here

where to buy gifts, balloons, flowers, and HCMC logo items

where to stay in town

where to pick up your prescription medications

how to find your way around campus

how to get connected to the Internet while you are here, and much more.

Hospital Guidelines

Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) recognizes the important role of the family and loved ones in the health and wellbeing of patients. We encourage visitors to participate as members of the care team to enhance the patient’s hospital experience and ensure the delivery of safe and patient-centered care.

At HCMC, we welcome family members and visitors at any time. In collaboration with the health care team, patients coordinate their own visitation and decide who they want to visit and when. Visitors may include spouses, domestic partners (including same-sex domestic partners), family members, or friends. The hospital will not restrict, limit, or otherwise deny family presence or visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Please know that there may be times when we need to limit visitation for your health and safety or the wellbeing of other patients.

Accommodations

One visitor/support person is allowed to remain in the patient’s hospital room overnight. Please discuss accommodations with the nursing staff. There are also many hotels in the surrounding area. HCMC keeps a list of hotels that are either within walking distance of the hospital or that provide free shuttle transportation and a hospital discount.

Visitor Passes

Visitors must wear a pass between 11PM and 6AM throughout the hospital, and passes are always required in the Emergency Department and some other inpatient units. Passes are issued by Security staff at the Red 1 Welcome Desk or the Security Control Center at the entrance to the Emergency Department.

On evenings and weekends, please use the Red Building entrance at 730 South 8th Street to enter the medical center.

Visitor Responsibilities

Visitors have the responsibility to:

Cancel or delay their visit, if possible, if they have a cold, cough, fever, or other illness.

Supervise their children while visiting. Children under 18 must be with an adult other than the patient at all times.

Check with a nurse if they want to bring food or beverages for you, and ask a nurse where to store leftover or uneaten food.

Food should not be left in your room.

Wash their hands when they come to see you. There is hand sanitizer in most rooms.

Wear a visitor pass when required. Please check with the nurse for any specific visitation guidelines on the unit.